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This article examines the population censuses conducted in the Russian Empire, the USSR and the new Russia; it reveals the peculiarities and methodological apparatus of each population census, presents the main questions of census lists, their comparability with previous censuses, notes new questions and explains their application. Thus, in the 2010 population census, the term “household” was introduced in the question on kinship (property) with other persons living with the respondent; in the question on marriage status, the concepts “officially divorced” and “separated” were differentiated; the levels of education and the presence of a degree were highlighted; the results of population censuses are given according to statistical data for the Komi Republic. The results of the population censuses of 1939 and 1959, which made it possible to assess the scale of forced migration to the Komi region, are separately considered. For each population census, the timing of its conduction and the critical moment are given, it is explained why certain population censuses were carried out not in the “zero” year, as is customary in most countries of the world, but in other years. Particular attention is paid to the 2021 census, it has been postponed for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past decades, the population of the North of Russia has decreased by more than a quarter. The leading cause is migration outflow, with natural population movement also contributing to the overall population decline. Comparing the data of the last two censuses will make it possible to understand the full depth of the transformational processes. The purpose of the study is to analyze the demographic trends and changes in population distribution in the North of Russia based on the results of the 2021 All-Russian Population Census. The originality of the article lies in the fact that the analysis was carried out at all levels: the macro level, regions, municipalities, and urban settlements. The article shows that with a general population decline, there is further urbanization of the northern regions and a reduction in the number and proportion of rural residents. Particularly high population decline is demonstrated by such regions of the European North as the republics of Komi and Karelia as well as the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions. The authors have identified trends in population distribution, such as an increase in the proportion of the population of large cities and a decrease in the average population of towns and urban-type settlements. Population distribution in the North of Russia is influenced by factors such as the size of the settlement, economic specialization, ethnic composition, and geographical location of the settlement. With the help of spatial analysis, the study identified the clusters of municipalities and settlements with the best and worst trends since 2010. Using Lorenz curves and the Gini coefficient, the authors studied the unevenness of population distribution and economic activity. The study also revealed that in the vast majority of municipalities in the North, the proportion of men has decreased, which may adversely affect local labor markets. The results of the study may find application in public administration and the development of strategies and programs for the socioeconomic development of the northern territories. Further research should consider such characteristics of the population as age, ethnic composition, place of birth, length of residence, number of children, and housing conditions.

The article examines the settlement system of the Russian North, which was previously determined by decisions of ministries and departments, and now it is changing under the influence of resource corporations' activities. The focus is on small and medium-sized towns that are part of the supporting framework of settlement, ensuring connectivity of the northern territories. The authors analyze the dynamics of population, including urban one, and the population of small and medium-sized cities. The study identifies periods of upward and downward dynamics for each population group and settlements. If the country is drawing the population to the west, then in the North it is concentrated in the Asian part. The article shows that urban settlements were created multifunctional, with the monopoly of a city-forming enterprise, which, on the one hand, made them economically vulnerable, and on the other hand — more adaptable to external conditions. According to the author's methodology, small and medium towns are ranked according to the share of the population of these cities in the total population of the region. The authors have identified four groups of regions that have an insufficient, medium, high and excessive share of the population of small and medium towns; the optimal boundaries of this share are proposed. The authors have identified four groups of regions that have an insufficient, medium, high and excess share of the population of small and medium towns; the optimal boundaries of this share are proposed. The study revealed the similarity (concentration of the population in large cities) and the difference in the structure of settlements in the North (the share of the population living in small and medium urban settlements, is lower in the countryside). The research results will be applied in the development of strategic documents for the development of northern towns.

At the beginning of 2022, the Political Encyclopedia Publishing House (ROSSPEN) published a collective monograph “Russian and World Arctic: Population, Economy, Settlement” / Fauzer V.V., Smirnov A.V., Lytkina T.S., Fauzer G.N.; ed. by prof. Fauzer, Moscow, Political Encyclopedia Publ., 2022, 215 p. ISBN 978-5-8243-2479-2. The reviewers were well-known scientists: S. V. Ryazantsev, Corresponding Member of the RAS, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Director of the Institute for Demographic Studies of the Federal Research Sociological Centre of RAS, and A. N. Pilyasov, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography of Foreign Countries, Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The necessity of special benefits and guaranties for distant territories, and areas of the Far North and equivalent territories, allocated in a special group, aimed at involvement of people and providing the needs of national economy with natural resources are described in the article. The author’s periodization of the legal development of northern benefits and guaranties was presented. The grounds for separating the periods were the years of regionalization of these territories and a set of state preferences granted to the population in different periods. Five stages are highlighted: first — pre-Soviet, tsarist period, when the benefits and guaranties were introduced for distant localities; second stage — 1923–1932, the foundations of the benefit system by territories and branches were laid; third — 1942–1945, the WWII years, when all benefits were collapsed or cancelled, fourth stage — 1946–1967, recovery of earlier established benefits, introduction the new benefits; fifth stage — 1990–2014, was ordering of benefits and guaranties due to the new economic realities; a part of benefits became a competence of labor law, defined by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The authors conclude that the development activities in the northern territories were the main goal of the government, and, therefore, the legal regulation of guaranties and benefits for the employees of the Far North and equivalent for them territories were also a priority. During the 20th century and in the beginning of the 21st century, the benefits for the employees of the Far North and equivalent territories had been repeatedly changed. They were expanded or limited depending on the necessity and opportunities of the state.